The grave of one of the nation’s first Medal of Honor recipients was found in Dighton, according to volunteer researchers working with the town’s Veterans Office.

The final resting place of Frederick C. Anderson, a Civil War soldier who received the Medal of Honor for capturing an enemy battle flag in 1864, was found in the Dighton Community Church cemetery on Elm Street, said Charles Mogayzel, a Korean War veteran from Pawtucket who led a search for the grave.

After reading about Anderson in 2009, Mogayzel looked through graveyards in the town of Somerset, where it was previously believed that Anderson was buried, before coming upon a death record that suggested otherwise. About one month ago, Mogayzel obtained a document from the Providence City Archives — Anderson died in the Rhode Island capital in 1882 — that said Anderson was interred in Dighton.

“I wouldn’t have been able to find it without help from the guys here in Dighton,” said Mogayzel, explaining that he was assisted by the town’s veterans officers, graves officer, another resident and a member of the church. “It’s really something to find it. I’m so happy about this.”

On Wednesday, Mogayzel visited the grave, planting a flag along with a marker noting Anderson’s service as part of the 18th Massachusetts Infantry. The small gravestone simply reads “F.C. Anderson, Co. H, 18th Mass Inf.”

Anderson, a farmer from Raynham, was awarded the Medal of Honor in September 1864 for capturing the battle flag of the 27th South Carolina Infantry at Weldon Railroad in Virginia. He died at age 40 due to a hemorrhage on the job at the Worcester R.R. freight yard in Providence.

Town pride

Joining Mogayzel on Wednesday was Dighton Veterans Agent Robert Woods, Dighton Community Church Trustee Jack Costa and town resident Timothy Rhines. The four also said that Cemetery Commissioner Tom Ferrier and David Marvill, the Dighton Graves Officer, were also part of the effort.

“I just think it’s been a long time coming,” Woods said. “Our town takes pride in taking care of our veterans. It’s an honor to be able to find this Civil War Medal of Honor recipient.”

Costa, who is also on the church’s cemetery committee, said it’s fantastic to be able to find a Medal of Honor recipient in the graveyard.

“We have a lot of Civil War veterans here in this cemetery,” said Costa, explaining that Silas Talbot, captain of the U.S.S. Constitution, is also buried there. “I’m glad that we were able to find this.”

Now, Mogayzel and Woods said they want to have Anderson’s grave officially recognized by the U.S. Veterans Administration. The two said they would be applying for a plaque from the agency to mark Anderson’s grave with a Medal of Honor designation.

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Historical perspective

At the Raynham Public Library, a memorial was erected to honor Anderson in the late 1800s, after money was gathered for it by Civil War nurse Amy Leonard.

The Raynham Historical Society said they were happy to hear about the finding of Anderson’s grave, and are eager to learn more.

“I think it’s very exciting,” said Kathleen Roberts, of the Raynham Historical Society. “This man was put to the side and not brought to the front as others are. Research can bring many things forward that should be brought forward. To do that work is just great.”

Although the monument existed, Roberts said full details about Anderson’s life and service were only first revealed in a 2009 article in the Raynham Call. The story took readers from the Medal of Honor recipient’s early years as an orphan surviving Dickensian conditions on a Raynham farm, through his years fighting the Confederates, along with his marriage to a Taunton woman, to his untimely death working as a civilian at age 40.

“Here is this man who did a wonderful thing yet we didn’t hear about it,” Roberts said. “I’m glad. It is worth being written about.”

Roberts added that the finding of Anderson’s grave comes just as the country is observing the 150th anniversary of the Civil War.

Regimental records show that Anderson was about 5-foot-3, had blue eyes and sandy hair. He joined the Union Army at age 19 and was “mustered out of military service” at age 23.

Anderson earned his Medal of Honor during the Second Battle of Weldon Railroad, serving at a time when the award was first given out. Accounts of the award ceremony show that Anderson was one of three recipients receiving the Medal of Honor, in a presentation that was the first of its kind.

Rhines said there is also a Medal of Honor recipient from Dighton: James Luther received the Medal of Honor, and was buried in Westville Cemetery off of Cohannet Street in Taunton, Rhines said.

He said he was happy Mogayzel did his research and came to Dighton to find Anderson’s grave.

“I just think that it’s completely amazing that this gentlemen has been found after all these years,” Rhines said. “Mr. Mogayzel should be commended for the research he’s done, to make sure Civil War veterans are honored duly.”